Hilo Ukulele
RatingsThere have been a few ukuleles using the name 'Hilo' over the years. The most common one now is based on the island of Hilo, Hawaii (although the ukuleles themselves are made in China). All the advertising I've seen for them say the company was founded in 1926. But for a company that old, there's not much information on them around.
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US $29.99
15 Comments
I have one of these:
http://www.retrofret.com/products.asp?ProductID=4011&CartID=8852851062009
It plays and projects very well although you can tell it was cheaply made and mass produced. It is vintage and made in Hawaii though.
Here’s some info on an older one that I found while surfing for info on Hilo Ukuleles. This guy made a good find:
http://nashukes.blogspot.com/2009/04/wish-you-were-here-rockfish-stu.html
Jeff: Thanks very much for the info.
i have a hilo baritone uke that i got for about $40. given the price, it plays surprisingly well. after a fixing few minor set backs (the nut popping off repeatedly, the loose tuners, and high action) it’s turned to a good-looking, decent-sounding instrument.
I have a Hilo soprano made in china. I got mine from a buddy who got it from guitar center a couple years back. It is terrible. It is not even a musical instrument. Its not a toy either though, its just a joke. It is total garbage. There is no redeeming quality of this fake ukulele. There are many other brands selling cheap instruments that actually play. Steer clear of this heap.
I bought a used Hilo baritone uke. It is very hard for me to play, I’ve learned a few chords. I think the action is off. I’ve thought about taking it to a luthier to have it re-worked, but would it be throwing away money? It has a pretty good sound, and I’ll bet it needs new strings.
I enjoy playing my concert ukulele a lot more.
I got a Chinese Hilo tenor uke for about $45, and I love it. When it’s tuned just right, it sounds lovely, but the intonation is not great. I’ve played ukes of higher quality on visits to music shops, and the difference in sound is clear, but this tenor is a good beginner/knock-around instrument. Their sopranos are not recommended.
I have a Hilo soprano that is a few years old and I love it! I replaced the tuners which would come loose all the time and now it sounds great!!! also great for carrying around when going to the beach, on the sailboat, BBQs….
Wow – hard to believe anyone could possibly be surprised when a $25 instrument sounds like a $25 instrument.
Cost half as much as a Lanikai and about half as good. But in that context, they’re OK. Budget instruments – perfect for taking to the beach or on a boat. True beaters, and for that, they’re good value for the very small amount they cost.
I’ve played a few over the years, and now have a soprano, probably about 20 years old from the look of it. I’m happy with it. Scooterchick, don’t take it to a luthier! It will cost you more than the instrument is worth just to have a luthier look at it. If you want to lower the action, cut the nut slots down slightly, so that the strings are only a few millimeters off the first fret. Then, sand down the bridge until you’re happy with the sound and feel. If you get fret buzz, you’ve gone to far, but that’s what paper shims are for – and frankly, bridges are so cheap, I always keep several on hand, along with nuts.
First of all, I second John’s first comment
I bought my Hilo about a week ago, on sale, for $35. Given the price, I was not at all expecting the thing to play like gold. For the quality, it does have a nice sound, and its easy and fairly smooth to play. Honestly, the only bad things I have to say about this Uke is that I sometimes need to tune it multiple times a day, and the action is way too high for my taste. Additionally, something that is bought new shouldn’t already have notches and scuffs on it, haha.
I do recommend to buy as a “take anywhere, everywhere” Uke. Throw some Aquilla strings on it, and your good to go
I got a Hilo in 2008 when I decided I wanted to play “Elephant Gun.” It’s a good uke to buy if you aren’t sure you’ll be able to play it proficiently or if you’ll only play once in a while. Nothing really is horribly wrong with the instrument- it plays well when tuned and held correctly. The sound isn’t spectacular but I think for the price it’s fine. I’ve noticed when I play certain notes (Em and G to be exact) the sound is off-key and screechy. Just went to a guitar store and was blown away by the sound quality of a $200 uke.
So I’ll be buying a new one pretty soon.
You could have fooled me!….if you told me that the uke was $500, I would not have guessed it was a Hilo!.. so, for a starter uke, Hilo has a good low price going for it…
for being a $40 impulse buy at a guitar center it’s been exactly what i was looking for. A cheap thing to learn on and throw along on camp trips, to the beach, or just where ever without the worries of it being destroyed. Although, this one has start to tone nicely after two years of playing, so I would feel a little bad.
terribly made, but it’s a good way to figure if you even want to continue to learn to play.
I got mine about 6 years ago in Honolulu and paid something like $120 for it, but I’m positive it is a different model than the ones people are describing here. The hardware isn’t too smooth and the uke detunes itself pretty easily and the stain job is not great but the action is excellent, it’s weighted very nicely and projects very well. The action is good up and down the fretboard with no buzz and no dead spots.
I just got the Hilo Soprano model 2652 for Christmas! I looked it up and found out its only $40. At first I thought the ukuele was going to be complete garbage. Then i opened up the box it came nicely packaged and looked really nice. The finish is pleasing to the eye and looks real not like a little toy. I tuned the string and suprisingly, it sounded really good. It’s been 2 days now and the strings already keep their tune very well. For only $40 you can’t pass this uke up. Given the price I give it 5 stars because its not a junk toy that isn’t playable. It looks and sounds great. It even compared to my makala tenor! Buy this uke, you won’t be disappointed.
I recently bought one of these at the Guitar Center for just over $30. The instrument is quite cheaply made and doesn’t have the greatest sound, however, that is not necessarily a bad thing when starting out. If you want to try out the uke but aren’t sure whether or not you’ll actually like it, I would highly recommend one of these.
This is great for starting out because it is very playable and you don’t need to sound wonderful in the beginning. Also, if you decide that you don’t like to play the ukulele, its not a huge waste of money. But if you do enjoy the ukulele and decide to upgrade to a higher quality brand, this one will still be good for bringing on trips and such and won’t have to worry about screwing up your good instrument. You get exactly what you pay for here but definitely start here
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